Cornwall Board outlines $44.5M tax‑neutral capital package, presents options up to about $55M ahead of May vote

Brendan Carty, a member of the Cornwall Board of Education and chair of the communications committee, told a packed Capital Project Community Forum that the district is preparing a new capital proposal and hopes the community will vote on it on May 19.

Carty said the district’s 2025 building‑condition survey identified nearly $78 million in outstanding needs across the system — including roughly $17 million at the high school, about $30.1 million at the middle school, and millions more at Cornwall Elementary, Willow Avenue and Cornwall On Hudson — and argued a bonded capital project is the most efficient way to tackle large‑scale repairs and safety upgrades.

“Capital projects are set up to encourage school districts to tackle their large‑scale capital investments this way,” Carty said, noting state building aid and expiring debt that falls off in 2030 are central to the plan. He added the district believes it can fund a tax‑neutral package of about $44.5 million and, combining capital reserves, expected state aid and the end of current high‑school debt service, estimates it could proceed with projects totaling as much as about $55 million without increasing the tax levy if all assumptions hold.

The board outlined two financing building blocks. First, the district established a $5 million capital reserve in 2022 and secured voter approval for a second $5 million reserve…